As he writes in his book, Of Kennedys and Kings, President Eisenhower resisted enacting every recommendation that the commission suggested.(p. One day, while following Jerome Smith, a participant in the Freedom Rides that raised awareness of interstate bus segregation, ... Schapiro kept following the civil rights movement, too. Jerome Smith was a young civil rights activist and Freedom Rider in 1963. By C.C. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. 16 x 20 Inches, Silver Gelatin Photograph, Edition of 25. Note (Content) Jerome Smith begins the interview by talking about his upbringing in New Orleans, including his involvement in small Civil rights protests from the 1940s insisting that his mother be treated with respect in stores. Berry brought him along, and his story was not … You're black, and the children of the people that I work for are not smarter than you. From boycotting stores that refused to hire or serve Blacks to sit-ins along Canal Street, CORE’s substantial contributions were integral to the Civil Rights Movement from 1960 onward. $300-$5,500 benefit on home purchases and sales, Members save 10% off the best available rate. Arthur Schlesinger, in his book on RFK, recalls that CORE described Smith as a young man beaten more than any other CORE worker at the time.. Jerome Smith stood up to RFK. Our people always put themselves up for struggle. See also: 10 Freedom Riders: Then and Now. Then she cried, and said a prayer. We're going back.". Visit today. Beyond the Civil Rights Movement, Smith continued to impact our city, particularly in the Treme. to search for ways to make a difference in your community at The scene is similar to the work Jerome Smith would have witnessed during his organizing work in Mississippi. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. How young people took over the civil rights movement. Civil rights leaders Jerome Smith and Rudy Lombard created the program in 1968, and Smith still runs it today. Jerome Smith of New Orleans is 78 now. The first reaction was polite and tepid. Jerome Smith at Church, 1965. NOCCJ, 650 Poydras Street; Suite 2303, New Orleans, LA, 70130, United States. When we entered the McComb bus station, all these white folks came pouring into the station shouting, "Niggers!" This week, New Orleans native Jerome Smith talks about riding segregated street cars and the decision that made him commit to a life of political activism in the name of civil rights. She taught us all to stand up for our dignity. Martin Luther King Jr.: Remembering the Dream. 04 Jun — 05 Sep 20 With ... Jerome Smith at Church, 1965 Gelatin silver print. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly Part of their fear was based on guilt, knowing what their people had done to us. Jerome Smith (left) was one of 15 Freedom Riders on a Greyhound bus from Montgomery, Ala., to Jackson, Miss., on May 24, 1961. The Raisin in the Sun playwright had come along with actor Harry Belafonte, author James Baldwin, and other luminaries at the invitation of Robert F. Kennedy and Baldwin. Jerome Smith was a young civil rights activist and Freedom Rider in 1963. In May 1963, in a Kennedy family living room on Central Park South, Lorraine Hansberry tried to defend civil rights activists’ safety. STEVE SCHAPIRO: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. During this meeting, it is said Smith emotionally told the United States’ Attorney General, “I’ve seen you guys [from the Justice Department] stand around and take notes while we’re being beaten.” Despite grave injustice and adversity of the times, Smith made a profound impact on civil rights history. It was all about our collective strength. receive communications related to AARP volunteering. You have to keep moving forward. Harris Wofford was an assistant to the Civil Rights Commission set up by the Johnson/Eisenhower bill of 1957. She pleaded with the people on the bus: "I'm gonna bring this little bad-behind boy back home; let me take care of him. by Jerome Smith, Republished May 3, 2011 | Comments: 0. He called and said he wanted us to stop protesting. We were in pretty bad shape, so he said, "You need to go to the hospital. and "Kill ‘em!" Jerome Smith (left) was one of 15 Freedom Riders on a Greyhound bus from Montgomery, Ala., to Jackson, Miss., on May 24, 1961. The Fahey/Klein Gallery is pleased to present Freedom Now, an exhibition of American Civil Rights photographs by celebrated documentary photographer Steve Schapiro. Jerome "Big Duck" Smith, Civil Rights Activist, Community Organizer,Asante Honoree, Freedom Rider, Educator, Tamborine & Fans Founder Arthur Schlesinger, in his book on RFK, recalls that CORE described Smith as a young man beaten more than any other CORE worker at the time.. Jerome Smith stood up to RFK. AP. He picked up me and another fellow, Thomas Valentine, hid us in the animal feed, and drove us to an old juke joint back into the woods outside McComb near "Nigger Town," as they used to call it. Interviewer . They knew that everything that was unique about the city could be traced to the Black presence.”. https://lawyers.law.cornell.edu/lawyer/gerald-jerome-smith-sr-220927 Jerome Smith, a young black civil rights worker who had been beaten and jailed in Mississippi, was one of Baldwin’s assembled group. An activist remembers her lunch counter sit-ins. Smith is the definition of a true warrior and his legacy continues to inspire people everywhere. But when I did it, white people on the bus became very hostile. ", I said: "You deal with this just like you would if President Kennedy was down here. The Commission was the state’s official counter Civil Rights agency, which ran from 1956 to 1973, and kept an extensive archive of its surveillance of Civil Rights workers. When he did it, no one had reacted. You must be logged in to leave a comment. It was no surprise to anyone that Smith had no kind words for Bobby or his brother: You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The meeting took place at an apartment owned by the Kennedy family at 24 Central Park South in New York City. The collective thing was much more powerful than Dr. [Martin Luther] King, much more powerful than whatever my humble contributions were. SCHAPIRO: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. Jerome “Big Duck” Smith, a life-long resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, is considered a stalwart of the Civil Rights Movement locally and nationally. They cannot do the things you do." Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Since it was an informal meeting, there was no stenographic record. My mother used to say: "You're black, but you don't have to be dirty. | He enabled me to remove myself from a danger zone while he absorbed the beating. Kennedy called on Baldwin to gather civil rights leaders to discuss rising racial tensions: Clockwise from top left: James Baldwin, Lena Horne, Lorraine Hansberry, and Jerome Smith. You're black, but you don't have to be dumb. Rogers, Kim Lacy. . Jerome “Big Duck” Smith, a life-long resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, is considered a stalwart of the Civil Rights Movement locally and nationally. He was the kind of person some might call an "Uncle Tom." . I was being overwhelmed by some folks and my friend George Raymond intervened; he pretty much saved my life. All the fear was never in the moment itself. In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails In fact, Smith had been beaten at least 12 times by mobs or police during the struggle. We're not stopping. She hugged me and said: "Never stop doing what you're doing. Images of Change: photos of the civil rights movement. Jerome Smith is director of the Treme Community Center in New Orleans. ", He was the only person who could get through because he was like the white folks' "uncle." Excerpted from My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience (AARP/Sterling Publishing, 2004). SCHAPIRO: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. Request print details. again. They were beating us with brass knuckles and fists and sticks. I was not taught to fear whites. All were arrested. Using the organizing techniques he learned in the Civil Rights Movement, he co-founded Tambourine and Fan, a youth organization that created events that brought young people together to create cultural experiences that enriched the life of the city. “Children in the Center recite lyrics of “Strange Fruit”, the names of the four young girls killed in the Birmingham, Alabama Church-fire of 1963, the Neville Brothers’ ‘Sister Rosa’, and chants of Mardi Gras Indians who will ‘not bow down.’”. Comments: 0. In the meantime, please feel free When I was 9 or 10 — this would have been in the late 1940s — I got on a bus and took down the "Colored" screen and sat down in the white section. Throughout his travels, Smith participated in numerous protests that resulted in battle wounds. Jerome Smith—activist for the civil rights group CORE, rode on the Freedom Rides; There were four white persons there. In 1961, Smith took part in two Freedom Rides intent on desegregating local bus stations — the first from Montgomery, Ala., to Jackson, Miss., on May 24, and the second from New Orleans to McComb, Miss., on Nov. 29. That is true. Never stop taking that sign down." Jerome Smith has mentored multitudes of individuals across the city for decades and continues to do so. Smith’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement dates back to the late 1950’s when he joined the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (“CORE”) as a 19-year old student at Southern University of New Orleans. One set of injuries, the most serious, from brass-knuckled blows to his and other Freedom Riders’ heads by a mob in McComb, Mississippi on November 29, 1961, left Smith with lifelong headaches. In 1968, Smith founded Tambourine and Fan to instill important culture, history, and tradition in New Orleans youth. Most times I would try to deal with the moment with a kind of emotional detachment you find in some of Gandhi's teaching, because you cannot surrender. The gathering, in the Kennedy family's spacious Central Park South apartment, began civilly enough before Jerome Smith, a young Freedom Rider who had been arrested and hospitalized for the beatings he sustained, lit into the attorney general about the plight of African Americans. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try I'm sorry this happened.". I had seen my father, a seaman, do something similar. www.aarp.org/volunteer. Speaking of CORE, the late Rudy Lombard stated, “They had ‘a certain confidence,’ . She worked as a domestic but also cultivated her natural talents — photographer, furniture maker, seamstress. You will be asked to register or log in. Where is 18-year-old Freedom Rider Charles Person today? Smith, Jerome. According to Clarence Benjamin Jones, an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and participant in the eventual meeting, in May 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy asked novelist James Baldwin to organize a "quiet, off-the-record, unpublicized get-together of prominent Negroes" to discuss the state of race relations. You can also manage your communication preferences by updating your account at anytime. AARP Rewards combines online learning, fitness challenges and a supportive community. Jerome Smith recalls the childhood event that later led him to join the civil rights movement. Longtime Cook County prosecutor Brian T. Sexton, now running for a seat on the bench, was chided by a U.S. District judge in 2016 for falsely testifying in a federal An elderly black lady came from the back of the car. Personal Loans from Marcus by Goldman Sachs®. I could walk in their neighborhood, but they were afraid to walk in mine. He continues to teach classes modeled on those of the Freedom Schools during the 1964 Freedom Summer. The things I think about when I look back are not the major events but the day-to-day dangers. On May 24, 1963, Smith met with Attorney General Robert Kennedy and a host of celebrities and civil rights leaders in New York City to discuss the state of civil rights in the United States. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. They didn't think he would do anything. by Jerome Smith, Republished May 3, 2011 Campbell-Rock Contributing Writer. It was 56 years ago that Jerome Smith, then 10 years old, ... a New Orleans organization that teaches young people about civil rights, leadership and political engagement. Jerome Smith is a life-long resident of New Orleans and a cultural investor in his community. We made our way from the station into the streets, and just then an old man came through with a dirty old truck. Thereafter, Smith challenged Federal desegregation laws across the South as a member of the Freedom Riders. NEW ORLEANS -- During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, few people were more active than New Orleanian Jerome Smith. Editor’s note: This is the second in a series focusing on some of the country’s iconic graduates of HBCUs and their accomplishments. John Lewis, Clarksdale Miss, 1963 I was sort of unconscious going in and out, but I remember him saying, "Can you see the truck? We got off the bus and went into a store. She slapped me on the head and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself, disturbing these good white folks." In Talk That Music Talk , an essential volume about the city’s brass band community, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes writes that Smith “created a curriculum for understanding how music, street culture, and social justice are connected in New Orleans, and then taught it by example.” because they came out of a culture that was so rich. AARP members receive exclusive member benefits & affect social change. In the back of the truck was stuff to feed his pigs. 21) As we have also seen, both Eisenhower and Nixon failed to back the Brown v Board decision of 1954. Either Clarence Jones or Jerome Smith makes the suggestion that JFK should personally escort a black student to the University of Alabama with him as a show of support to the civil rights struggle, making it clear that whoever spat on the child was desecrating the nation. related to AARP volunteering. He is still six feet, four inches tall, though slightly stooped and tilted due to beatings that he took as a nonviolent demonstrator for Civil Rights. It was always after, when you'd think about what you'd done, what you'd been through, and tremble. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Jerome Smith, Freedom Rider associated with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Rip Torn, a young white actor; Jerome Smith was a young black civil rights worker who had been beaten and jailed in Mississippi. I guess they did not have the same kind of social toughness. It was no surprise to anyone that Smith had no kind words for Bobby or his brother: My mother was the well from which I drew much of my strength. Many of the unknown paid a tremendous price. Baldwin had invited the actor Rip Torn, and Kennedy was accompanied by two assistants, Burke Marshall and Ed Guthman. Smith’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement dates back to the late 1950’s when he joined the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (“CORE”) as a 19-year old student at Southern University of New Orleans. Burke Marshall [the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division] found out we was there. Civil rights activist Jerome Smith, a longtime friend of Dr. Rudy Lombard, reflects on an experience he had with Lombard in Mississippi during the 1960s. To face those monsters every day with no cameras rolling, plain ordinary people had to extend their hand and help you get your job done.
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